Stranded in the Happiest Place on Earth! August 2011 (Lots of pictures) updated 01/28

"Tonight's trip report is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction."

​

What you will find in this trip report: 2300 pictures taken all around WDW and US. 11 nights at the All-Star Sports Resort 9 Table Service restaurants (with pictures for most) 9 Days in WDW parks 2 adults acting like children 1 Day at Islands of Adventure in Universal Studios 1 Tomorrowland Terrace Firework party 1 Flight cancelled due to bad weather 1 Very nice surprise on the Tower of Terror

The Cast:

DGF: This was my DGF's first trip to WDW. Before we left she did not want to hear too much about Disney for fear that I would ruin all the surprises. This meant that I had the pleasure of hearing her scream on rides like Dinosaur and TOT where she had no clue what to expect .

Me: This was my third trip to the world but my first adult trip. I started planning 8 months before we left and I got to say that it was worth it. This trip was amazing .

Here's a sneak peak at what's ahead:

On the next episode: Landing at MCO, Magical Express and Hollywood studios.

From the teaser pictures, it looks like you both had a good time. I can't wait to read about the trip.

Click to expand...

It's kinda funny because I had the camera for most of the trip so there are a lot more pictures of her then of me. But we definitely BOTH had a great time even though there aren't many pictures to prove it haha.

So day 1 in Disney World was an interesting one. We definitely learned a lot about touring and about ourselves. Since our flight left early on the 20th and we live 4 hours away from the airport we left the day before and stayed at an airport hotel nearby. This saved us from paying parking! YAY!

The car is packed and we are ready to go!

So the morning of the 20th we got up bright and early and sleep walked our way unto the shuttle to the airport. Even if the Halifax airport isn't big we still managed to get lost while looking for the US departures gate. Thankfully we had planned on arriving at the airport super early. Our flight left on time and we landed in philadelphia early. Unfortunately, one there our connecting flight to Orlando was delayed so we had a 3 hour layover. We still managed to get to Orlando around 2:00pm. We followed the crowd to the monorail that leads to the main terminal. Once in the main terminal we weren't sure where to go but a family must of noticed our Magical Express pamphlet and told us to follow them.

After a short wait (we got in line for ME at 2:15 and we where on board by 2:30) we where on our way to WALT DISNEY WORLD!!!!

Our hotel was the first drop off point so it wasn't long (30 minutes) till we arrived at All-Star Sports. Unfortunately it was raining quite strongly when we arrived (no worried though cause it really emptied out the parks). We had done online check in so we got our KTTW pretty fast. We dropped off our stuff in the room and left for our first park. HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS.

The original plan was to do one or two rides then get in line for Fantasmic but when we got there the park was nearly empty so we headed for our first ride! Tower of Terror!!! Butterflies started fluttering in my stomach as we got closer to it. I only rode it once as a kid and I remembered it being scary. We where planing on getting a fast pass but when we got there 10 minutes wait!!! so we hopped in line.

What a great ride. Next we where hungry so we headed to the backlot express for supper. This is the only meal where we each ordered a quick service meal. Despite being two starving adults we where only able to eat about half. I got a deluxe angus burger and Thekeeper (DGF) got a ham sandwich. Both where good considering it was fast food.

Afterwards we walked around Echo lake and back to Sunset Blv to catch Beauty and the Beast live on stage. This is my favorite childhood Disney movie so I was very happy to catch it live. We walked in a few minutes before it started so we didn't have great seats but it sure was a good show.

After that we went straight back to Tower of Terror. I don't know why but the second time was even scarier then the first time. I held on for dear life!

We took some pictures with the famous Sorcerer Mickey hat then got on the Great Movie Ride. I'd forgotten about the interactive part of this ride so I was pleasantly surprised. This was Thekeeper's first time seing Disney Audioanimatronics and I was able to capture her look of amazement. I love this picture.

We walked around the deserted streets of america to the Muppets 3D. I remember first seing this show and being 1. scared to death and 2. blown away by the interactive 3D. This time around I found it a little dated but I still enjoyed it.

We walked around a bit more and stumbled upon one Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater so we used our trusty photopass for that one. I haven't ordered the CD yet so I don't have those pics.

We walked around some more, taking in the atmosphere. Then decided to head to Star Tours. I love the queue but the ride was almost a walk on so I wasn't able to get a good picture. The simulator was cool but dgf and I decided that it got us both nauseous so that was the only time we rode it.

Here's where the survival part of the title comes in. We had decided to leave our filter water bottles in our rooms so we relied on purchased water to stay hydrated for the night. So as we headed to line up for Fantasmic we grabe a water bottle and I later bought a lemonade.

[/IMG]

Unfortunately if wasn't enough. We lined up for F! around 9:15 which meant 45 minutes of standing in a crowded area. By the time we sat down (very good seats I must add) at 10:00 we where exhausted and honestly I think we where near heat stroke level. We both felt so sick that we decided to leave before the show started and head back to the hotel. We knew we'd be coming back to HS in a few days so we could catch F! at that point.

We where back at ASsports by 11:00 and in bed by 11:30. We had a BIG day planned for tomorrow.

Stay tuned for our next episode: Day 2 Tonga Toast, Touring plans and the joy of Disney naps.

Hey everybody! Sorry for the long wait. University has started again and I'm having difficulty finding the time to work on this TR. Hopefully I'll have it done by christmastime haha. Also I never realized how much time it took to upload pictures into photobucket. I've started uploading pictures while I'm not using my computer just to try and get ahead.

So last post ended with me and Thekeeper leaving Fanstamic before the show because of heat and exhaustion. We got to the hotel and really took advantage of our refillable mug. Just a quick word on that. We where staying at All-Star Sports which meant that we had the cups with the chip in them. There was a small screen on the pop machine that told us that our cup was filling. If you where to try to get more pop right after the screen would tell you when the next refill would become available(3-5 minutes later I cant remember). I saw a few people with old cups or cups with different lid color try to fill up and it would not work. We could however fill up a plain bottle with water and ice with no problem. The only issue we had was that if you where to stop halfway through filling the cup then the machine would tell you that you need to wait to fill it again so you where left with half a cup. We did use the food court once and got a disposable cup. Those also have the chip in them and you have the right to 3 refills (I think) within 90 minutes of your purchase. I thought this was fair. So thats the 101 on the chip cups.

Allright so on to day 1. MAGIC KINGDOM DAY!!!

We knew that day 1 was going to be our longest day because we had reservations at Kona Cafe at 7:30 and EMH at MK till 2:00AM (Spoiler alert we didn't last till 2:00AM).

We got up around 6:30 and tried to hurry to get dressed and packed for the day; however, we where still tired from the previous night so we only got to the main building at 7:00. I asked at the concierge desk how to get to the Poly and he said bus to the MK then monorail or boat to Poly but he said that they didn't start till 8:00. We decided to take a cab directly to the Poly to save on time. A CM at the entrance called us a cab and he got there fairly quickly. I think the cab cost us about 20$ with the tip but I can't remember. We got to the Poly before the Kona was even open but we checked in at the front desk and went to wait on the couches by Ohanna's. I think they thought we where waiting for Ohanna because we where given leis. At 7:30 we where called in to Kona Cafe.

I had planned KC for our first morning because I wanted my DGF to have a good coffee to start the day right. She tends to be grumpy in the morning and I wanted to put all the odds in my favor. I was looking forward to the Tonga Toast. Our Waitress came over quickly with a CM in training. She said that we looked like people who knew what they wanted! We each got a Tonga Toast and a French press pot of Kona Coffee (This counted as both our drinks on the DDP). Now I'm not a coffee drinker so I didn't taste the coffee but it did smell great! Our Tonga Toast was brought out within 10 minutes of ordering. They where amazing!
Unfortunately, I was only able to eat about half of mine but it did keep my full till lunch time! My DGF loved hers to. Because we where trying to make it to MK as early as possible we got our check and payed by 8:00. We will definitely be heading back to Kona Cafe for breakfast on our next trip.

Now there is something I forgot to mention. When it came time to pay for our breakfast I looked into my wallet for my KTTW and realized that I'd forgotten it at the hotel. DGF used her KTTW but she was not happy with me and was thinking that we would have to head back to our room and we would miss rope drop. Now thank god I spent so much time on the DIS because I had read about this happening to a few people and they had went to guest relations and got a new card. That's what we did and thankfully we where standing by the train station by 8:20. Crisis averted! haha

We took a few pictures by the train station. I tried to do one of those akward self pictures with extended arm of both of us and a kind stranger offered to take a picture of us! This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip. We then decided to stand by the entrance on the left. I think next time I'll stand on the right because we had the sun in our eyes when we watched the welcome ceremony. We stood in the crowd for about 40 minutes. The thing about going end of August is that the parks aren't that crowded but it was HOT!!! I was looking forward to opening just so we could get out of the crowd. We each had a small portable fan but mine broke on the first morning.

Because we where so close to the entrance we weren't able to see much of the welcome ceremony but the music still got DGF crying haha. I have a (very shaky) video that I have taken of it and it gives me goosebumps when I watch it. I think the ropedrop was the reason we headed to MK for day 1 even if Touring plans says to avoid EMH parks.

And then we where welcomed to the Magic Kingdom and we headed down main street for the first time. We where amongst the first in the park so main street was relatively uncrowded. CM's where standing on the curb and waving with Mickey hands. We walked pass most of this because we knew that the morning was the best time to get as many attractions done as possible. We would have time later for picture and sight seeing.

Our first MK ride? WINNIE THE POOH. We where amongst the first there and there was no line at all. We took a few pictures in the queue area then walked into our hunny pot. This was both our first times riding WtP. It was very cute and we both loved it. Next stop was Peter Pan. I'd loved this ride as a kid and it did not disappoint this time. I love flying over London. We got off PP at 9:10. Two rides in 10 minutes woohoo! The Haunted Mansion was next. I just love the view you get of the Mansion as you walk up to the queue area. As a kid this was the perfect mix of scary and fun for me. This time around it was more fun then scary but still a great ride.

Up until this point the TP had allowed us to do 3 rides in 30 minutes but that all came to a halt when we got to Big THunder Mountain. We where supposed to grab a FP for Splash and head onto BTM but Splash was down so we rode BTM twice in a row. Splash still wasn't working and DGF wanted to have a picture with Frontierland Donald. As we where heading towards the picture spot I realized that I'd left my hat on BTM. It was too hot to not wear a hat so we headed back to BTM and a nice CM found it for us. Then back to Donald for some great pictures! We had photopass (loved it) so we could get pictures of the two of us. Splash started working a short time after so headed over there. We went through the FP line and had minimal wait.

By that point we where starving so went to Peco's for lunch. We used the nifty self serve computer to order. Most people didn't even notice them or didn't want to use them so there wasn't any line. We got one deluxed burger for the two of us with a yogurt for dessert. The burger was great. I really liked the buffet style condiment table. We went before the lunch hour rush so we didn't have a hard time finding a place to sit.
That's it for today folks! Thanks for reading and hope you come back for the rest of the TR. The next episode is about how we learned to love the nap!